Friday 21 December 2012 06.56 EST
First published on Friday 21 December 2012 06.56 EST

The Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, believes that Mario Balotelli has accepted his responsibilities by dropping his challenge to a club fine this week.

Balotelli agreed to pay a fine of two weeks' wages for his poor disciplinary record last season when he abandoned an appeal to a Premier League tribunal in midweek.

A statement from the club said Balotelli made the decision partly out of respect for Mancini, but the manager said on Friday that he was more pleased that the player showed respect for his own reputation.

Mancini said: "This is an old situation and it is normal when someone does a mistake he should take his responsibilities and Mario did this. It's normal.

"He [should] respect himself, not me, because it's important for him to respect himself, very important."

The situation increased speculation that Balotelli could leave City during January's transfer window but Mancini remains faithful to the 22-year-old.

He said: "I am his manager, like other players, and if he deserves to have other chances he will have them."

Balotelli will not feature in Saturday's Premier League meeting with the bottom club Reading at the Etihad Stadium after missing training sessions this week with a virus.

Mancini said: "This weekend Mario, unfortunately, is ill. He came this [Friday] morning but he can't do anything."

Balotelli, signed from Internazionale for £24m in 2010, missed 11 of City's competitive matches last season through suspension.

He failed in an internal appeal against the sanction but exercised his right to take his fight to the Premier League.

However, Wednesday's planned hearing was cancelled after an agreement between the club and his representatives was reached that morning.

Mancini hopes to have his captain, Vincent Kompany, available to face Reading after the defender missed last week's win at Newcastle with a groin injury. The City midfielder James Milner is also close to fitness after a hamstring injury.

However, Samir Nasri has been ruled out with a hamstring problem and the full-back Aleksandar Kolarov is also unavailable due to a knee injury.

Mancini said: "We can recover James, probably Vinny [Kompany] but not Samir and Kolarov. Samir is out but we hope that he can be ready for the bench for Norwich [on 29 December] and for Stoke [on 1 January] he will be ready [to start]."